In One Singular Moment
by coramatix
Summary: Eric fights for his heart and Calleigh's life. Post Finale THEY ALL FALL DOWN.
1. Chapter 1

**Post Episode THEY ALL FALL DOWN. I do not know about you but when I first saw the ending a few weeks ago my heart sank! There also have been some rumors going around so I think I will indulge you a little bit in this story. Hope you enjoy it.**

His heart was beating out of his chest, or was it even beating at all. What the hell was happening? His co-workers, his friends, his _family_ were all on the ground in front of him; none of them stirred, nor did any of them look at him and say hey like they usually did. A horrific sight which he could not manage to comprehend.

Walter Simmons, his friend, lay closest to him. He tore towards him, checking for pulses and signs of breathing. He was alive. He took a moment, he could hear everyone breathing, everyone except for the one person who he could identify just by one singular breath…he could not hear Calleigh.

"Calleigh." He whispered quietly, a simple wave of shock ran through syllable as he said it.

He mentally did not know where she was, but his heart, well his heart knew just about everything when it came to his love, Calleigh Duquesne. He found his legs not in a run but a sprint; his heart was telling them to stop because it could be the last time he held her in his arms. His legs were finally forced to gain speed, running towards the ballistics lab.

Eric stopped for a millisecond allowing a pained breath to enter his lungs when he first saw her in the middle of the firing range. "CALLEIGH!" He shouted three times. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." He repeated while sliding to the ground beside her. Eric noticed that no air was escaping from her small body. "Breathe, breath. BREATHE!" He begged, each time he said it, it sounded more urgent. "Can you hear me?" He prayed that she could. "Calleigh, listen, please." Desperation filled Eric's voice. He ran his hands over her chest and neck trying to find signs of heart palpitations, she had none. She had no pulse, she was virtually dead on the cold floor. "SOMEBODY? HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" Eric screamed on the top of his lungs. He proceeded to give her CPR, which appeared to be fruitless. Eric cradled her in his arms, a copious amount of tears fell from his eyes.

"Please do not leave me baby. Please Calleigh come back to me." He pleaded for her life. "Cal I need you."

The world started to become hazy around him, most likely from the toxin that had infiltrated his beloved's lungs. Eric fought off the impeding darkness, he fought to stay with her, he fought for her life.

"Hey remember how you told me that I needed to cook you dinner more often because it's not just a women's job? Well I will start doing that. An-an-and I'm sorry for everything I've done that's ever hurt you, or made you uncomfortable, you seem to fix those things that make me up. Cal I love you and you know that just please do not leave me." He begged. Just then Tripp had entered the room, cloth covering his nose and mouth. Tripp tried to pick Calleigh up but Eric was persistent, he carried her out hoping to feel her chest expand or see her eyes flutter open.

The main level of the crime lab was filled with bio-hazard workers and paramedics, all working for towards the same goal, save lives. Eric held Calleigh tight, something about her felt different, and it was not the fact that she did not have a pulse. An open stretcher caught Eric's eye. He set Calleigh upon it and called for help.

"How long has she been like this?" A medic asked.

To Eric it seemed like a lifetime when in actuality he had only found her about 2 to 3 minutes earlier. "Um, I'd estimate four to six minutes top." He rambled.

"Okay well we'll get her loaded but you need to get checked out."

"No I'm not leaving her, I can't."

"I understand that but it will not do her any good if you are injured."

"I don't think you heard me clearly the first time, but I will not leave her!"

The ambulance was overly crowded, but Eric would not budge from where he was seated, right beside Calleigh.

"I have a pulse, it's weak but it's something." One of them said.

"Her air way is constricted, I think her trachea is swollen shut." another replied.

"So a cricothyrotomy is her only chance?"

"One of the very few, but we can't perform it, we need a doctor."

Eric couldn't understand a single word that came out of either of their mouths, each word blended with another creating a snowball effect. His eyes were trained on Calleigh, her skin had turned to a light shade of bluish-purple. Air still refused to enter her body. Then the shrilling sound of the heart moniter began again. Her heart stopped, they tried to get it started again but they couldn't seem too…..

**TBC….**

**Tell me what you think, I will address some of the nagging rumors in the next chapter. And I would also like to know what you thought about the last scene. Saw it like three weeks ago and my heart dropped into my stomach, watched it again last night and it was still the same affect, I mean holy shit. I'll try to get some spoilers but I won't know whose leaving until July when they get the scripts, and then I still can't tell you because I'll be in trouble.**


	2. Chapter 2

He stood behind the doors of the trauma room. Eric's hands were clammy, his whole body trembled, and he was pretty sure that he was not breathing.

His eyes peeked through the small, square window. They started the cricothyrotomy as quickly as they could. Eric looked on as a male doctor slowly slid a scalpel with great precision across the tender flesh of Calleigh's throat. Blood poured from the wound, but judging by the amount it was not enough to indicate that the doctor had hit her carotid artery. Just as they were putting the tube in place the trilling of the heart monitor began again. It was so loud that Eric, who was now sitting down in a chair, could hear it. His breath got caught in his throat, his heart began to beat a thousand miles a minute, he could not lose her, he just could not.

It took all the will power that Eric managed to muster not to run into the room and beg Calleigh to wake up, to have her tell him that it was all a terrible dream. He knew he could not enter the sterile room at risk of spreading and infection that could also lead to Calleigh's untimely demise. One of the many doctors brought paddles to Calleigh's bare chest trying to get a heartbeat, a heartbeat that was never to distant from Eric's ears. He could see the small scar that was left on Calleigh's right breast from a car accident from when she was in college. With each shock Calleigh's body jolted and there was still no indication of life.

Calleigh's last words to him raced through his brain over and over again. He regretted not being able to hear them from her personally, but from a message that was still on his phone.

"Well babe, I will tell you what, since you like presents so much I think I will give you an amazing one tonight. Love you, bye." Her voice was more sweet than seductive, more nice than naughty; it was filled with the sound of a genuinely ecstatic Calleigh Duquesne.

Had she found it, that think that served as a symbol of his love for her? Is that why she was so excited? Did she find that small velvet box that was tucked in the back of his underwear drawer? Did Calleigh open it to see the beautiful diamond ring that had been inside it? Truth be told Eric was going to propose to Calleigh that night, possibly at the same exact time that the doctors were now trying to save her life.

A small sigh of relief escaped from Eric's lips when her heart began to beat again. His resumed pacing, back and forth, nearly walking into the wall each time. His head was spinning and his heart ached, the emotional stress was taking its toll on him. He saw the doctor come out that had preformed the emergency cricothyrotomy. His scrubs were had traces of blood on them.

"I understand you are here for Ms. Duquesne?" He questioned.

"Yes, I'm Eric Delko." Eric replied.

"I am Dr. Weathers, I need a rough run down of Ms. Duquesne's medical history, are there any conditions she suffers from?"

"ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, she has it from smoke inhalation, she cannot carry an inhaler because tests showed it damaged her lungs further. Last month she had another um…" he paused having that day flood back into his memory, that day he tried so hard to forget. "She has another scare, another case of acute smoke inhalation that caused her to go into respiratory distress and her heart for some odd reason failed." It failed just like it had many times that day.

"And is there any chance that Calleigh is perhaps pregnant?"

Eric swallowed hard, the thought of never having a family with the one woman he loved haunted the back of his mind. They had discussed the topic of children and discovered they hoped for them sometime in the near future, and they both knew they loved each other so protection did not need to be they're main priority. "I guess so." He managed to stammer out. It was difficult for him to imagine Calleigh being with child in the current sate she was in.

"Okay Mr. Delko we need to perform an emergency surgery on Calleigh, her lungs have been damaged severely from the chemical that she inhaled, especially since it appears she has inhaled an extremely large amount of it. We are also going to work on repairing her wind pipe to help her breathe easier."

Eric could only nod.

A few hours had gone bye since Eric received the news, he had failed to move from where he was sitting. Scalding hot tears burnt his raw cheeks, his eyes were stung red. "Why her?" he asked himself over and over again. Eric Delko had just learned that he had lost his dear beloved.

**TBC…**

_**Ooh cliffy sorta. What do you think? What happened? Why am I torturing you guys? lol… PLEASE I BEG OF YOU REVIEW…REVIEW AS IF IT WILL SAVE CALLEIGH IN THE SEASON 9 PREMIRE! **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the supportive reviews…This chapter is for someone who is my best friend, like a cousin and like a sister to me Maddie, you've done so much to help me with this story. I'm so happy you are moving back to Raleigh! I'll get to see you when I come and visit now, I know Auntie Em/ your Oma is glad to have you closer to her again. XOXO baby girl**

With his head cradled in his hands Eric shed more and more tears. Sobs racked his entire body, his shoulders moved up and down. His heart was crushed merciless act, set in place to wreak havoc and to kill. Each breath he took felt like a dagger stabbing him in the gut, knowing each breath he took was one that she did not have.

Horatio approached him, placing a heavy hand on Eric's shoulder. He knew that he would never know or understand what Eric was going through, sure he had lost people in his life, many people in fact. But never had he lost anyone who as amazing and unique as Calleigh.

"How are you?" Horatio asked, he knew it was an asinine question to ask, seeing as how Eric was an obvious wreck.

"I cannot do it H, I cannot live without her." He cried. His words were like a bullet to Horatio's heart, his friend, his brother-in-law had lost the most important thing in his life and there was not much Horatio could do but attempt to comfort him.

"Eric yes you can, Calleigh would want you too."

"How do you know what Calleigh wants? Huh, because you can ask her, but she will not answer, she never will." Heartbreak was visible in his eyes.

"You do not know that…" Eric quickly interjected before Horatio could finish.

"They said she has limited brain function, the she was deprived for oxygen for too long, that she will never wake up. Everything that made her a person, that made her alive is not there anymore, she is dead!" He shouted in pain.

"Go sit with her, tell her you love her, and pray for her Eric, just like she did for you." Horatio said quietly. "Calleigh needs you to have hope, she needs you to remember everything you to share together, and to think about everything you want to have with her in the future." His words rang, like church bells tolling, throughout the busy hospital.

He sat in the white room, everything was the same clean shade of white, it was nauseating. Calleigh's hands were cold and lifeless, her cheeks were filled with a deathly pallor. Machines, machines were everywhere; machines whose only jobs were to falsify the signs of living. Eric wondered what Calleigh would be thinking about at that exact moment if she could think. If only he knew that her head was buzzing with something that would bring a whole wave of old and new feelings to him.

_***Calleigh's Mind/Flashback***_

_A little girl playing with her dolls while her mother washed dishes. Like a scene out of a storybook or those children movies. But then BANG just like that the little girl had to watch her mother die, which was not the storybook ending any parent would want their child to read. A mentally scarring sight for anyone, but still the small child did not lose her composure. A heart wrenching sight of anyone, especially for Calleigh at that particular moment._

_Calleigh slowly removed the bullet that had torn through Janice's skull , from the wall. The little girl, Daria, had been singing Ring-Around-The-Rosy, a tune that now played faintly in the back of Calleigh's head. She remembered way back when, when she was little, before things turned bad and her father began to drink and everything was good. On family picnics with her older sister Anna, singing the old nursery rhyme. But not long after that Calleigh was forced to grow up and help with the household that seemed to be crumbling around her. She became a mediator at times, and a mother to her older sister Anna who refused to grow up and face the reality. _

_Jesse Cardoza had entered the room looking at an absent minded Calleigh. He lightly tapped his foot, bringing her back to the real world. She continued to tell him about the bullets trajectory, and then he was off again trying to solve the murder. She scanned the room slowly, wondering what the room looked like through a child's eyes. Had it been a large fort where you could ward off evil dragons? Or a castle where you could live happily ever after? Or maybe it was a grand ballroom where a princess would dance with prince charming until the sun came up? But maybe it had been a magical forest inhabited by talking creatures, and fairies that roamed and floated about while birds chirped high in the trees._

_The heat in the un-air conditioned kitchen thoroughly baked Calleigh's body, a few beads of sweat trickled down her neck. She wanted water, she needed water. Her lips were dry, and her throat was as parched as a desert. She turned her head to see the victim's purse on the table. With each step came a soft click from her heel hitting the floor. As she searched through the purse she began to think of the contents of her own._

_Tucked away in her locker at the lab was her large black patent leather Coach bag. In it was a tube of lip gloss, chap stick, lip tint, a compact, bottle of ibuprofen, an address book, her keys, another cell phone, credit cards, money, I.D., and a pack of spearmint gum._

_Oh yeah there was one other thing in there too. A mark of proof of Calleigh's now most prized possession. In an unmarked black box that simply read 'To Eric, with lots of love, Calleigh' laid the rest of their future. A positive pregnancy test with the date of May 24, 2010 written on it. Calleigh had found out that she was going to be a mother earlier that morning. She was so excited to tell Eric later on that night, it was his present. _

_Her hand unconsciously went to her flat abdomen, where butterflies began fluttering like crazy, the same feeling she got every time she saw Eric. It was insane how quickly things seemed to be happening, it felt like just yesterday she had seen Eric for the first time in her life. Back when he was a tad bit immature when he would use extremely cheesy pick-up lines and being serious was not something he could not quite grasp at the time. One day her baby would feel the same gleeful feeling and fall in love all in one second. It was then Calleigh knew she had to protect her little baby; her growing family came first from that moment on._

_***End Calleigh's Mind/Flashback***_

Eric did not know that it was 8:30 the next morning; he did not know that he had sat with her all night. He held her hand and gently kissed it, while moving back a tendril of her pale gold hair. He did not know who had awoken from the day before, that was until there was a quite rasping at the door.

**TBC…**

**Review! Who do you think is going to die in my next chapter? Well that is if anyone dies at all. XOXO**


	4. Chapter 4

**New Chapter is up now…well obviously. Do not know when I am gonna post the following chapter, holiday weekend and I am going to my parents place in Miami for two days and then to my home town of Raleigh for a week and a half, but I promise not to leave you hanging for that long! **

The taps at the door seemed like they were from a distant universe to Eric because all his focus was on Calleigh. He slowly turned towards the door to see Natalia Boa Vista standing behind it. At first he was reluctant to get up, afraid to move because he had the nagging feeling that if he left that all hope for Calleigh would be lost forever. Eric finally got up from where was sitting and exited the room.

The ICU hallways where far from bustling, they were a little crowded by doctors and nurses with high risk patients such as Calleigh, but not all the rushing and racing in the emergency room. Natalia stood in front of him without her usual sense of frivolity that usually formed a barrier of warmth around her. A sorrowful look seemed like it had injected itself in to the pores on her face. The bright cheerful colors that she had worn yesterday were replaced with a crisp, lifeless, black number that Calleigh would have worn in a heartbeat, but Calleigh could make anything look amazing and cheerful, it all depended on the way she was feeling.

"How is she doing?" Natalia swallowed hard trying to hold back the tears that threatened to pour over her eyelids.

"The doctors say that she is not going to wake up, I just pray that they are wrong." He said quietly.

"She is a fighter Eric; she would not just leave you here."

"Well it looks like she does not have much of a choice this time." Eric's words left a bitter taste in his mouth. He managed to shift his thoughts to his co-workers for a moment. "How is everybody else? Are they awake?"

"Everybody else is fine, all we needed was some clear oxygen and some sleep. But truth be told I do not think anyone got any, we are all so worried about her Eric." She took a second to swipe a tear of her cheek that had escaped her eyelid. "She is our co-worker, our friend, she is one of the key members of this _family _that we have."

Eric nodded. "Nat I do not know what I am going to do in all honesty."

"You are not alone in this Eric none of us can lose Calleigh, we cannot. I know without her that I will not be able to function normally; the whole lab will go to hell. There is so much weight on her shoulders, she has always kept everything level and now everything has gone absolutely haywire."

Natalia looked at him with purpose; she looked down at the objects in her hand. "Well the case file is extremely thin but I can tell you about some of the facts we do know. If you are ready for them I will continue." He gave a slight nod. "Okay well we do not know what the chemical is. But hazmat figured out that Calleigh was subjected to more of it then the rest of us, one has to do with where the rest of us were. We were all around more people so the there was only so much of the chemical that could be divided into that many people, but since she was by herself there was not anyone else to also inhale it. The number two reason was because the ballistics lab is more heavily ventilated, causing the air to more freely and the gases to be exchanged more often."

"So if she was not where she was she would be fine."

"Not exactly Eric, you have to also take in to consideration her ARDS, which has been working up a lot more as of recently."

"But the key thing was her location, why is she always in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why is she so prone to danger and to death? What is the point of being alive if the world is going to give her hell time and time again? When is she actually going to get a chance to live, because at this point it seems we should just by a wing of the hospital for her to stay in." Each word filled with agony.

"Please do not talk like that, it is not going to help any of us Eric, it is only going to hurt." She paused desisted for a moment. "Hey hazmat found this in her locker, they had to search everything. This was addressed to you so we thought you might want it." Natalia handed him the small black box.

"I do not think I can open it." He said running his finger over the writing on the side. Curiosity was not getting the best of him today.

"Why can't you?"

"Because she was going to give this to me, and now she cannot."

"But obliviously she wanted you to have it, I do not think she would mind if you opened it now."

He was hesitant but he finally opened the box. What he saw made him fall to his knees. How ironic, he finds out his current girlfriend is pregnant from his ex-girlfriend whom he had a pregnancy scare with.

"What is it?" Natalia asked kneeling on the ground next to him.

"She…she…she is pregnant." He lamented to her.

"Oh my god, Eric I am sorry if I would have known…"

"The doctors would have told me when they got her blood tests back anyway. Besides finding out this was is like I am finding it out from her." Her being pregnant, that is what was different about her. Somehow he could feel that something was different when he was carrying her out of the lab. For a moment he had felt a twinge of joy, until he was force to recall Calleigh current predicament when her doctor came to him.

"I'd better go." Natalia said giving him a quick hug. "She is going to be fine." She had whispered discreetly into his ear before walking off.

"How about we head into her room to discuss this?" Dr. Weathers offered.

"Sure."

Eric sat himself down in the chair, bracing himself for more bad news. The doctor handled a thick file of Calleigh's test results.

"Well Mr. Delko we ran blood tests and we have some news…" The doctor's voice was grim.

"I already know, she is pregnant, I just found out." Eric said holding up the test. "How far along is Calleigh?"

"I would have to do an ultra-sound to determine that."

"Then I would appreciate if you would do one."

"Okay then."

About a half an hour later Eric was staring at a small moving black and white imagine on a tiny screen. A miniature little black blip on the screen was their growing child. Eric had ordered the doctor to get pictures and videos made.

"Hey you should see this babe, it is amazing." Eric whispered quietly into Calleigh's ear.

"It appears that she is around six weeks." Dr. Weathers said.

"I want to hear the heartbeat."

"I do not think that is a good idea." He was trying to protect Eric from more mental stress.

"In all honesty I do not care what your opinion is. I want to hear my child's heartbeat."

The doctor caved to Eric's orders. The heartbeat sounded rapid and slow all at the same time to Eric, his baby had a heartbeat.

"Is everything okay?" Eric asked, tears of joy forming in his eyes.

The doctor continued to look at the screen. "The heart rate is at 116 BPM which is perfectly healthy for the fetus's stage in development. So yes everything appears to be in order." With that the doctor switched off the monitor and turned to Eric.

"But I should warn you it is extremely difficult for a woman in Calleigh's state to carry a child to term. There are so many variables that her body cannot handle such as temperature and nutrients. And if she does make it to term it highly likely that the child will be a still born."

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that it would not be a great decision to continue this pregnancy any further."

"I cannot do that."

"Have you thought any more about pulling the plug?"

"No I have not, are you insane? If I refuse to let you abort the pregnancy then what makes you think I would let you kill her? It would be murder, killing the woman I love and my child, why not just shoot me too?" He stood up screaming at the doctor.

"What is all the yelling about?" A voice asked.

**To Be Continued…..**

**Ooh even more cliffy.**

**P.S. I was reading wikipedia's run through of THEY ALL FALL DOWN and it said that Eric was holding Calleigh's body, not holding Calleigh, but holding Calleigh's body. It scared the living shit out of me…her body! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH lol**


	5. Chapter 5

**Told you guys that I would not leave you hanging for that long, so you are welcome lol. **

A short nurse entered and had now stood in the door way of Calleigh's hospital room. Her stature and current facial expression had show how vehemently serious she was.

"I apologize, Mr. Delko is upset about his loved one's current condition, surely you can understand." Dr. Weathers said.

"I am sorry Mr. Delko about Calleigh. And Dr. Weathers can you please make sure that your future conversations are kept at a lower volume, because I would hate to further upset the rest of current resident and their families." Her eyebrow rose like Calleigh's often would.

"I will see to it personally that it will not happen again because of me." Eric promised.

"Oh honey I do not blame you, but thank you." She replied and then left the room.

"Eric I must say I am sorry, my suggestion is what I believed to be in your best interest." Dr. Weathers stated.

"How would it be in my best interest to kill her and my growing child?" Eric questioned.

"Through my experience many people get their hopes up and it never turns out the way they had planned it. Calleigh is my first pregnant patient, and believe me when I say that it pains me to have to suggest these things to you, I have two daughters of my own. But yet again I would expect if something should happen that you will experience a greater deal of pain than you had expected."

Eric slowly nodded as he realized that the doctor was not his enemy, but that he was protecting him from what Eric knew he could not stand to face.

"Thank you, but I still cannot do it. I could not live with myself knowing that I had killed the two most precious things on this earth."

"I completely understand Mr. Delko, and I pray everything turns out the way you hope it will. You deserve it, and so does that child. Calleigh, well I cannot think of anyone more deserving than her."

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Eric had finally left the hospital three days after the incident at the lab had taken place. He began to sleep at home. Well not exactly sleep, he had found it hard to keep the tears and memories at bay. The bed was made for two, well technically three, him, Calleigh, and their developing child. The couch had smelled faintly of her, which made him toss and turn all night long, while wiping the endless tears away. And a last resort he was going to sleep in the hammock in the backyard, but yet again he could not because that was the place where him and Calleigh would lay awake all night and look at the stars and talks about their impending future together. So Eric was forced to take quick catnaps while at the hospital, next to Calleigh.

Today Eric went over to his dresser and looked over the outfit he had picked out over one week and a day ago for a night that had not turned out the way he had planned it. He began to change into the white button down dress shirt and the black slacks. He decided to nix the suit jacket. He reached into his under garment drawer; his hand went to the far back until he pulled out the small box. The ring was bigger than Eric had remembered. A large sapphire sat in between smaller diamonds that were set in platinum. Eric had chosen this particular ring because of Calleigh's love for the movie _Titanic_, but he did not want to go for a cheesy heart shaped ring. The Bulgari ring was extremely expensive at a whopping $120,000 but Calleigh did not need to know that. He slipped the ring into his pocket without the box and headed off to the hospital.

Calleigh had not moved from the night before, but that was expected of a person who is brain dead. Her face was still pale, and a breathing tube still protruded from her neck. It was not a calming sight for anyone. Eric pulled a chair up to the left side of Calleigh's bed.

"You look better today babe." He said, and to him she did look better. His mind was tricking him, trying to numb the pain. The pad of this thumb gently caressed her hand. Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring.

"This is not exactly the way I wanted to propose," he started. "But I do not know if I can wait any longer. I hope you do not mind that I am not getting down on one knee. Well I guess here it goes. Calleigh I know you can hear me, and you know I love you more than anything and that our growing family I everything I will ever need. And I know you cannot answer right now but I would be honored if you would be wife and stay with me until we grow old. If you end up not wanting to then I will understand, but remember that I will always love you." He said while sliding the ring onto her finger.

Finding out that you are going to be a father and proposing were supposed to be two of the happiest moments of a man's life, but now Eric was entangled in the reality that he had a hell of a lot more to lose. He could not go to his friend beaming over his gorgeous fiancé who was carrying his baby. His friends were already jealous of him, who would not be, the most beautiful woman in the world was in love with him. Eric's friends always managed to falter around Calleigh, but now they were scared for Eric and his family, they no longer jealous because now they were hurting.

Eric wondered how his original proposal would have worked out.

**WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED**

The beach was desolate that night. Eric and Calleigh were left alone to enjoy each other's company. Even though their fancy dinner was over with, neither of them had wanted the night to end. Eric turned his head toward Calleigh, who was clad in spaghetti strapped, empire waisted lavender dress. Eric had ditched his suit jacket in the car.

The nighttime sky was star filled and marvelous, but Eric did not notice because all he could see was Calleigh.

"How about we go home, make some coffee, and pop in a movie? We can even watch _Bridget Jones's Journal_, if you want to." He offered.

"_Bridget Jones's Diary_ you mean." She corrected him. "That all sounds very nice but I am not in the mood for coffee."

"Calleigh Duquesne not in the mood for coffee? The world must be ending!"

"Oh do not be so dramatic."

"Okay, but I do have something I would like to discuss with you."

Calleigh's whole body tensed and she swallowed hard, all while wondering if he had found it. "As do I."

"Ladies first." He said. Calleigh was currently cursing his politeness.

"You know how I told you that I got you a present? Well here you go." She shoved the box towards him.

"Wow Cal you should not have." He took note of how nervous she was. "Why are you so tense babe? What is the matter?"

"Nothing, just open it."

Once he opened it Eric could not help but marvel at the sight. His focus turned to Calleigh, his face beamed with a flurry of feelings. Seeing this a small smile crept on to Calleigh's face.

"We are having a baby?" Eric asked. Calleigh could only nod. "Oh my god we are having a baby!" He shouted, he scooped Calleigh up in his arms and held her tight.

"We are having a little, tiny baby." She whispered. She looked into Eric's eyes. His facial expression turned to something she had not seen before, it looked like he had been hit by a something, and it frightened her. He placed her back on the sandy beach and began to pace. He ran his fingers through what little hair he had.

"Oh no, he is going to leave me, he is going to leave us. He is angry, he is ashamed. Jesus Calleigh you are so screwed, you messed up something amazing." She thought to herself.

He turned back to face her. "Eric what is wrong?" She asked even though she was afraid of the answer.

"Nothing, but I guess I am going to have to try and top that." Eric replied.

"Top what?"

It was then when Eric knelt down and pulled out the black velvet box from his pocket. Calleigh inhaled sharply.

"Calleigh I must admit, I am stupid, I make mistakes, I make a lot of mistakes. And I do not know why you love me but for some reason you do, so thank you for that because I know I do not deserve your love. You have my life so much better in numberless ways, and now we are having a baby. All I do not have is the pleasure of having you to be my wife." He paused for a second. "Calleigh Sophia Duquesne will you marry me?"

"Hmm I guess Calleigh Delko has a nice ring to it." Calleigh laughed as did Eric. "Of course I will. Now get off your knees and kiss me."

When their lips met it was like the rest of the world did not exisit, and in that moment it did not exisit. It was just the two of them.

**END THAT THINGY**

Natalia saw Eric through the window, the sight pulled at her heart strings. Eric proposed to Calleigh, her best friend, but Calleigh could not answer.

**TBC…**

**Tell me what you think…BTW some writer on fanfiction stole my writing, ****Bensler E.O Lover**** posted a link in the comments. I'm really upset about it, the writer did not ask my permission, compare their second chapter to mine. The similarities are more than eerie. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hmm got lots on my mind. Gonna try and make this chapter absolutely amazing. **

Two seconds, two seconds is all it takes for things to go chaotic, two seconds in which once again her heart stopped. It needed a break, it intended to take a vacation to heaven and never come back. But the it was the doctors or either heaven's gate keepers that denied her a citizenship visa to that place in the sky.

Eric stopped breathing as tears flowed from his eyes. He had almost had the two most important things that God had granted him, taken away. He just wanted to disappear; he wanted to go back to when everything was good. It seemed like it took them forever to get a heartbeat again, when in actuality it was on four of five minutes, but that was still a long time.

He wanted to look into her eyes and be lost in wonderland again. Without the two of them he could not survive, but it seemed like it was past the point of no return. It seemed like he would never find himself in wonderland again. He inched towards her bed to see her blonde hair everywhere.

He loved her for everything she was. He loved how she was not fake or plastic; he loved how she was not Barbie. He remembered a few weeks before when he and Calleigh were out shopping and they ran into a less than desirable character.

_***Flashback***_

_The Miami sun was making a buffet of most of the people on the beach. Lobsters most of them were, some were salmons but most were lobsters. Eric looked at Calleigh, who's fair skin could easily burn in the sun, but it never did. Besides they were not lying out on the hot, sandy beach, they were window shopping. _

_The air was still, no breeze to give them a slight chill. The stores were air-conditioned, but Calleigh and Eric were trying to stay out of them in order to save as much money as they possibly could. Too bad they were passing a book store called Books & Nooks. Calleigh glanced into the window._

"_Ooh they finally have my book!" She squealed._

"_And what book might that be?" Eric asked._

"_Come on I have only been talking about it since October." She looked at him to see if he would suddenly remember. "__Miami Babylon__ by Gerald Posner, it is about how Miami got started off of all the criminal things that we try to stop today."_

"_Oh that one, why are you even interested in something like that."_

"_As a CSI I believe it is my job to tie current criminal things to others and this shows how things like drug dealing are a strong part of Miami's history and will most likely always have a strong influence on the community."_

"_Leave it to you babe to take on something like that." He said giving her a tight squeeze. "Well if you want it, I will buy it for you."_

"_Seriously? I thought we were not going to spend money." _

"_Well seeing as how you have wanted it for so long, I think it would be a investment I would like to make." _

_Calleigh rushed through the doors and Eric went and looked in the clothing store next door. If he knew what Calleigh was going to encounter he would not have._

_Calleigh looked through the book when she saw a extremely buff man come up beside her._

"_Is that any good?" He asked._

"_It appears to be." She said with a smile._

"_Do you mind telling me what it is called?"_

"_Miami Babylon__."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Of course I am sure, why would I not be?"_

"_Well you know it might just be a little above your reading level."_

_It was then Calleigh took in the man's appearance. He had a short sandy brown coif, white tee-shirt, and khaki shorts. A typical muscle man in a costume._

"_For your information I am a perfectly smart woman, unlike you who would not know carbon monoxide from carbon dioxide."Calleigh snapped._

_The man let out a small chuckle. "Wow little lay you are quite the thinker aren't you? And I thought blondes were dumb."_

"_Intelligence has nothing to do with hair color. I also assume you believe a woman's place is in the kitchen baking you a cake filled with steroids."_

"_You bitch, women need to respect us men."_

"_You are extremely primeval. How about you go back to your cave and learn how to start a fire." That is when Eric walked in._

"_Hey babe." He said giving her a kiss._

"_Ha you are with this guy? Come on Barbie come and let me show you how Ken lives."The man said obviously referring to himself._

"_No way in hell am I Barbie, I am sure Barbie does not carry a gun and I am sure she is too polite to kick you in the balls. Besides unlike you I am not plastic, this is one-hundred percent real."_

"_Oh sure those are real." He said nodding to her breasts._

"_They sure are, but if you do not believe me how about you test them for yourself." She said putting the man's hands on her boobs. The man began to blush before he backed away._

_Calleigh and Eric walked out of the store without the book. Eric looked at her in amazement but at the same time he wondered how she could let that man touch her._

"_What the hell was that back there?" Eric asked._

"_That was how I handle stupid meat headed men. Do you have a problem with it?" She replied._

"_Not really, but how could you let him touch you like that?"_

"_Eric, I have been touched before without my permission, a woman's body is supposed to be like a museum exibit, you know you are not supposed to touch it but you still want to. And sometimes people who do not care about art decide to break the rules. This time I wanted to control it and look I sent him running. I dominated the situation, and he is most likely not used to women taking control. I made a sacrifice so that maybe he will not treat another women that way."_

"_I guess that makes sense but…" She cut him off._

"_I know you want to protect me, I get it, it is just that I needed to handle it myself. I am not a damsel in distress."_

"_I know you are not Cal, but you do not know who that guy was or what he could have done." Calleigh looked into his eyes and recognized the fear._

"_Hey I am sorry, I do not want you to worry." She said hugging him. "Let's head home, I am done shopping for the day."_

"_Me too.'_

_***End Flashback***_

Calleigh knew that she was not a Barbie doll, she did not ever want to be treated like one. Besides Eric figured that if she was a Barbie then her life would be perfect and she would not be lying in a hospital bed.

Eric closed his eyes for what seemed only like a moment. When he opened it the room seemed changed and he could not pin point it until he looked down. A set of scared emerald eyes were looking up at him. Genuine fear permeated from each inch of her small body.

"Hey baby." He managed to stammer out. He pressed the nurse button. Eric was astonished that she was awake.

"Do not move okay, just do not try to do anything, you do not want to get hurt."

A nurse came rushing into her room, along with Dr. Weathers.

"She is awake." Was all he could say to them.

They proceeded to run tests and take the tube out of her neck. They began to stitch up the wound when Calleigh cried out in pain. She squeezed Eric's hand hard, blood seeped through her sheets. Calleigh could not speak, but the look was in her eyes, something was wrong with their baby.

**TBC…**

**Need lots of comments. A sequel to this story is in the works. But this is not the last chapter of this one.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took me so long to repost. Thank you for all of the reviews.**

Calleigh's OB/GYN Dr. Keller pulled Eric into the hallway. Her fiery red hair swooshed about as she walked. She put a reassuring hand on his should her, and her bright blue eyes gave him a small sliver of hope.

"Mr. Delko, I believe that there is very little reason to be concerned. I think that with the current pregnancy Calleigh might be suffering from placenta previa. Now the symptoms usually do not present themselves until late in the second trimester or early in the third." Dr. Keller said.

"Why would it happen so early on?" Eric asked with extreme concern.

"Calleigh's uterus is abnormally small, that is most likely the cause. Right now there is no immediate need for concern and we can treat it throughout the rest of her pregnancy."

"Why was she in such severe pain?"

"That is a mystery to me, placenta previa is painless bleeding. We will closely monitor Calleigh over the remaining period while she is still in the hospital and if she feels anymore discomfort then we will be here."

"Okay thank you doctor." He said.

"No problem, here is my card with my pager if you have any more questions."

Eric entered Calleigh's room to see her fast asleep, an image that he was now okay to be comfortable with, knowing that she would awake in a few hours. He searched his mind for something to keep him preoccupied, he could not. It had been a few hours since her miraculous moment when she had awoken. Calleigh stirred slightly in her sleep, she was probably uncomfortable in the small bed. Eric began to drift off into a deep slumber.

Calleigh opened her eyes to see Eric asleep in the chair next to the bed. She had not wanted to wake him, but she finally realized the heaviness on her left ring finger. She peered down in amazement at the beautiful ring.

"Eric." She managed to say in a pained breath. He jumped awake.

"You should not be talking babe." He rubbed his eyes.

"Yes." Calleigh whispered.

"Yes what?"

She pointed to the ring. His eyes widened once he understood what he now fiancé was saying.

"Oh god Calleigh this is great, thank you." He said giving her a small kiss.

"No thank you. It is like you said this family is everything I will ever need."

"You heard me?" Amazement filled his voice. She nodded slightly.

The next day Calleigh had became more comfortable with talking, though it still brought her much pain. Today was the day Eric had to ask her the hard questions.

"If at any time you need me to stop just tell me, okay?" He asked.

"I got it." Calleigh replied.

Eric proceeded. "Hazmat has concluded you contracted the pneumonic plague, each section of the lab was dosed with something different. Unfortunately in your case you have ARDS which you already had prior knowledge of, but ARDS often leads to death by an infection of the lungs and the plague is an infection of the lungs which caused you to you knows um…" The words would not come out of his mouth.

"Die, it caused me to die." She said. "Babe it will not hurt me.a

"Yeah but it hurts me Cal."

"I am sorry; I do not mean to hurt you."

"You don't baby do not ever think that." He went back to what he was talking about before. "What do you remember from before you collapsed?"

"I was going over some old evidence; I asked Horatio if I could stay in the lab for the rest of the day, he allowed me to." She paused. "I started to get chest pains, and I began coughing. I grabbed a tissue; I soon noticed that I was coughing up blood. The pain in my chest intensified." Once again she paused; tears began to well up in her eyes. "I thought I was going to lose the baby. I became disoriented. The last thing I remember was waking up here."

"I found you in the shooting range; do you remember how you got there?"

"No, I was not test firing any weapons. I knew it was bad for pregnant women, I learned that back in college. But like I said before I became disoriented."

"Okay, that is all I needed to ask you." He saw more tears pouring down her cheeks. He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. "What is it Calleigh?"

"I thought I was going to lose the baby, I thought you were going to never hold it in your arms. Eric I thought I was never going to see you again." She lamented to him.

"You should have never had to gone through that. But hey you are here right now and so am I, and eight months from now our little baby will be here too."

"You are right." She said.

**EPILOUGE**

On August 17 Eric Delko and Calleigh Duquesne became Mr. and Mr. Delko in front of their closest friends and family.

One month earlier than expected on December 24 Adelisa Kendal Delko was born to two over joyed parents. Talk about a merry Christmas. She has blond hair, brown eyes with flecks of gold, and according to the proud papa, she defiantly has her mommy's charm and good looks.

**The End….**

**Look out for the sequel **_**Charmed Life**_ **it should be up in a few days. Hopefully, it will maybe a week or so and if it does take that long I am super sorry.**


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